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Vernon is regretting directing his boss to buy this hunk of junk ostensibly known as a vehicle. Not very much, but a little. Mostly because she then made him drive it, and this is a finicky and temperamental beast that keeps listing to the left, but in amounts that change a bit on every single bump. They are driving through what is colloquially called 'the wasteland,' which is a desert about half as hospitable and twice as rocky as it sounds. He is having to adjust often. It's annoying. Not very, and honestly, having a functioning vehicle that is not potentially going to explode is a bit of a novelty for him, but enough that he will think fondly of that other vehicle boss-lady had been eyeing before he steered her this way. That sure would have been nice to drive. It would have been painting a gigantic target on their backs, but still. He can dream.
Zash blinks a few times and looks at the someone else. "Because it's... understandable?"
"To throw you to be medically experimented on by snakes in labcoats with thugs that shoot first ask questions never. After you've helped and befriended them. When you were in the middle of fixing the problem they needed the money for in the first place."
"Listen, miss, if he'd really helped us proper, then why'd our plants start crapping out on us again so quick?"
"Because the one he fixed is fine! Its fellow that had been propping that one up for a century at its own expense is the one that fell through! Without Zash's intervention they would have both failed together, much worse than either time, in a sudden cascade!"
"I really don't think I was going to be medically experimented on. Not because of that, anyway." Sigh. "And... look, I'm here to help, okay? And if me being here doesn't help and me being elsewhere does help then, then I want to do that. That's a really unreasonable amount of money and I don't want you guys to, to regret having had me here, you know? It defeats the point, if me being here makes things worse."
"Eh," says Vernon, from his whisky. "I'm not sure it would have been better, actually. First they'd have to get you all the way there, with you being... you.... and there being a whole lot of shit between them and the city. Then they'd have to trust the Julai to actually pay up, which, what do they care about their reputation, right? And then, even if all of that goes hunky-dory, they have to get six million double dollars back here, safe and sound. Then there's finding someone who will actually sell a plant, which, good luck with that..."
Then he shrugs. "But it don't matter now, coppertop, it's all sorted. Stop pouting, have a drink, thank the nice people for harboring a wanted fugitive."
Zash reaches for Yvette's hand and gives it a squeeze. "It's fine, love. It really is. Julai won't come to bother us again, we can keep working in peace, and soon enough we'll have the plants good as new."
"...you really don't care," someone else realises out loud. "That they came for you, and that we were just discussing... You really just don't care. Why?" They don't sound mad, or outraged. Curious and, frankly, baffled. "Because it's understandable? Do you have no sense of self-preservation?"
"Jeneora was going to be fine, it's not about being fine." Okay, they're starting to get a bit outraged now.
"Impassioned speech about the shortsightedness of their choices highlighting the flaws in their logic?" provides Yvette, wryly self aware.
He smiles a bit. "In the hypothetical where it was the best option for them, though?"
"Impassioned speech about contributions to the overall well-being of the world and society at large. And also loyalty."
Man, Zash really wishes he could live in Yvette's world where people can resolve their differences via "conversation" and "argument".
Someone barges into the diner right then. "Hey, we should divvy up the loot!" Then he pauses as he takes in the atmosphere and notices Zash is there. "Oh."
Zash just laughs, though. "Show me what you got, Elliott, I want to judge you for your choices."
No and in fact it is time for FIGHTING OVER THE SUNGLASSES, round TWO.
Generally speaking, though, the prospect of dividing up loot lightens up everyone's moods and, despite silly infighting for specific things, does ultimately bring everyone together.
And there's no solution to awkwardness as good as effective as aggressively and cheerfully ignoring it, which Zash is great at. It helps that he genuinely cares about these people and doesn't hold any of what happened against them. Plus, he has Opinions™ about who should get what, and some of those opinions are fighting words but personally he finds it hilarious to rile these people up.
He does, actually, genuinely have fun.